The decisions of both Marvell Wynne and Patrick Ianni to enter
the MLS initially appeared to be devastating to the UCLA
men’s soccer team.
However, those losses may soon be forgotten as coach Jorge
Salcedo acquired what many consider the top recruiting class in the
nation last week.
“This year’s recruiting class is one of the best
we’ve had in recent history,” Salcedo said of his 10
standout incoming freshman.
One of the most talented of the 10 is midfielder Kyle Nakazawa,
who is a starter for the U.S. Under-17 National Team and has been
in residency in Florida since September 2003.
Nakazawa turned down offers from professional teams in order to
attend UCLA next year and contribute to the team.
Although he turned down offers, Nakazawa was present at the MLS
Combine in early January alongside David Arvizu, who was also
rumored to turn down professional offers to attend UCLA but will
not attend the university.
Joining Nakazawa are two other members of the U-17 National
Team: midfielder/forward Michael Stephens and defender Patrick
Rickards.
“The group is extremely well-balanced and will provide us
with excellent players for the next few years,” Salcedo said
of the variety of positions coming in.
Perhaps one of the most astonishing aspects of the incoming
freshman class is that six of the 10 were selected as All-Americans
and five of them were members of U.S. Youth National Teams.
Thousand Oaks native Chance Myers is the lone individual from
the U-18 team and Ryan White of Oregon was a member of the U-16
team when he was just 14 years old.
“I wanted to play collegiate soccer and I think UCLA has
the best program in the nation,” White said. “(Salcedo)
is looking to win a national championship and that’s the kind
of team I want to be a part of.”
“Some of them have youth international and regional team
experience, and a few are the top players in Southern
California,” Salecdo said. “Which makes us very excited
to sign all of them.”
The local standout players include midfielder Andrew Sinderhoff
of Mission Viejo, midfielder/defender Danny Suits of Los Alamitos
and goalkeeper Trevor Hunter of Chino Hills.
Hunter has already had experience playing with two fellow
members of his incoming class, having played for the U-19
Pateadores alongside Sinderhoff, a seven-year captain of the team,
and Myers.
The three players helped contribute to a 2004-2005 national
title run by the Pateadores.
Although the Bruins’ lineup took some huge hits last year
with the loss of Wynne, Ianni, and graduating seniors Jonathan
Bornstein and Jordan Harvey, Salcedo and the Bruins have high
expectations of the incoming talent in terms of filling the holes
in the Bruins’ roster.
“We lost extremely talented players last year, but
I’m very confident that this group of players will fulfill
those vacated roles and positions,” Salcedo said.